Companies such Tata Realty and Infrastructure, Reliance Infrastructure, Shapoorji Pallonji, Indiabulls etc attended the pre-bid meeting on June 18, 2009. However, a lukewarm response from international firms and demands from the bidders to relax norms made MMRDA take this decision.

As per new norms, the bidders should have completed one building of 300 mt each as against earlier criteria of completing 400 mt to qualify as a bidder. The bidders should have completed two infrastructure or mixed land use projects under PPP or BOOT basis together costing Rs 2000 Crore as against the earlier criteria of completing two buildings of Rs 1000 Crore each.

The authority has relaxed the norms relating to the lead member in case of JVs, saying that lead members should have a holding of not less than 26 per cent as against the earlier criteria of lead member having 75 per cent holding in the JV. On the request of the companies, MMRDA has extended the last date of submission of bids from July 2 to 31, 2009.

In a report in The Times of India, the work on the 531 metre tower coming up at Wadala will start in October 2009. With an updated investment figure of Rs 4000 Crore, the structure will have a built-up area of 60000 Lakh sq ft. The building will house several hotels. About 30 floors of the building will have seven-star hotels and luxury apartments. For the first 60 floors, there will be high-speed elevators while the rest of the building will have normal elevators. The building will be centrally air-conditioned, have electronic circuits, elevated transport and security.

As reported earlier in Hospitality Biz, 23 firms have shown interest to design and offer consultancy services while nine companies are expected to bid for constructing the tower. The area will be connected by the monorail and Metro rail lines; the trans-harbour project will link Wadala with Navi Mumbai.

The tower is being built on a Design, Build, Own, Operate and Transfer basis. We'll get to see the render only after the developer is announced in September. All other designs/renders published in the meantime would be baseless.

Their probably low on money so they can't afford highspeed elevators to the top to they stop them at the 60th floor.

BTW, can a mod please change the 500 to 531 metres.

I think money is not the issue, at least not in the case of elevators? They are having the entire building centrally air-conditioned. So if they can afford something like this, how can money be an issue here?

All it needs some engineering programming to slow (the acceleration) down the elevator from 60-101 floor. There has to be some other reason for them to do so.

Please people don't be too enthusiastic about such project because when this falls through the dissapointment is only much greater. What happened to those 100+ buildings in hyderabad, kochi? Do you know what I think? I think even in next 50 years our Indian cities will not look much different from today. It is not about economy or money it is the typical indian mentality or Indianness or whatever you call it. The Indian people who pees on the roadside and stains the walls with spittle. Mumbai is the financial capital of this country and not a single notable commercial tower in the city. All we have are ugly looking residential buildings. While the chinese are going overboard to show off their newfound prosperity to the world Indians are too happy to continue with what they have got. So please ignore this news about 100 floor buildings until you see the work actually starting in one the projects. Now we know the buildings in Hyderabad are never going to be built. The Gift in gujarat is all pretentious talks and nothing more. This is not a country where overambitious projects work or even if they do they do so after decades when they are not considered overambitious anymore. This perhaps very much true as far as architecture is considerd. If you look closely everything Indian is small or mellowed down versions of what we see in other parts of the world; be its people or its wildlife. So from that point of view one should not expect really tall skyscrapers in it cities or should we say the city i.e Mumbai?

Please people don't be too enthusiastic about such project because when this falls through the dissapointment is only much greater. What happened to those 100+ buildings in hyderabad, kochi? Do you know what I think? I think even in next 50 years our Indian cities will not look much different from today. It is not about economy or money it is the typical indian mentality or Indianness or whatever you call it. The Indian people who pees on the roadside and stains the walls with spittle. Mumbai is the financial capital of this country and not a single notable commercial tower in the city. All we have are ugly looking residential buildings. While the chinese are going overboard to show off their newfound prosperity to the world Indians are too happy to continue with what they have got. So please ignore this news about 100 floor buildings until you see the work actually starting in one the projects. Now we know the buildings in Hyderabad are never going to be built. The Gift in gujarat is all pretentious talks and nothing more. This is not a country where overambitious projects work or even if they do they do so after decades when they are not considered overambitious anymore. This perhaps very much true as far as architecture is considerd. If you look closely everything Indian is small or mellowed down versions of what we see in other parts of the world; be its people or its wildlife. So from that point of view one should not expect really tall skyscrapers in it cities or should we say the city i.e Mumbai?

Please people don't be too enthusiastic about such project because when this falls through the dissapointment is only much greater. What happened to those 100+ buildings in hyderabad, kochi? Do you know what I think? I think even in next 50 years our Indian cities will not look much different from today. It is not about economy or money it is the typical indian mentality or Indianness or whatever you call it. The Indian people who pees on the roadside and stains the walls with spittle. Mumbai is the financial capital of this country and not a single notable commercial tower in the city. All we have are ugly looking residential buildings. While the chinese are going overboard to show off their newfound prosperity to the world Indians are too happy to continue with what they have got. So please ignore this news about 100 floor buildings until you see the work actually starting in one the projects. Now we know the buildings in Hyderabad are never going to be built. The Gift in gujarat is all pretentious talks and nothing more. This is not a country where overambitious projects work or even if they do they do so after decades when they are not considered overambitious anymore. This perhaps very much true as far as architecture is considerd. If you look closely everything Indian is small or mellowed down versions of what we see in other parts of the world; be its people or its wildlife. So from that point of view one should not expect really tall skyscrapers in it cities or should we say the city i.e Mumbai?

I completely agree with u.
BTW, has anyone bothered what will happen to the prospects of this tower if the current govt goes out of power?

Please people don't be too enthusiastic about such project because when this falls through the dissapointment is only much greater. What happened to those 100+ buildings in hyderabad, kochi? Do you know what I think? I think even in next 50 years our Indian cities will not look much different from today. It is not about economy or money it is the typical indian mentality or Indianness or whatever you call it. The Indian people who pees on the roadside and stains the walls with spittle. Mumbai is the financial capital of this country and not a single notable commercial tower in the city. All we have are ugly looking residential buildings. While the chinese are going overboard to show off their newfound prosperity to the world Indians are too happy to continue with what they have got. So please ignore this news about 100 floor buildings until you see the work actually starting in one the projects. Now we know the buildings in Hyderabad are never going to be built. The Gift in gujarat is all pretentious talks and nothing more. This is not a country where overambitious projects work or even if they do they do so after decades when they are not considered overambitious anymore. This perhaps very much true as far as architecture is considerd. If you look closely everything Indian is small or mellowed down versions of what we see in other parts of the world; be its people or its wildlife. So from that point of view one should not expect really tall skyscrapers in it cities or should we say the city i.e Mumbai?

-100, just cause India is not china, doesn't mean India wont be like China in the future, India has come a long way since independence. 10 years ago, did you ever think India would ever look the way it looks now?

I think money is not the issue, at least not in the case of elevators? They are having the entire building centrally air-conditioned. So if they can afford something like this, how can money be an issue here?

I completely agree with u.
BTW, has anyone bothered what will happen to the prospects of this tower if the current govt goes out of power?

That is not important. This is a discussion forum & the project has been approved as of yet. The thread allows fellow SSCI forumers to provide their inputs and have a discussion pertaining to this project. If the project is shelved the thread can be locked and deleted. But that uncertainty shouldn't hold anybody from talking about it.

__________________"If I were to look over the whole world to find out a country most richly endowed with all the wealth, power and beauty that nature can bestow – in some part a very paradise on earth – I should point to India."

"There is no book in the world that is so thrilling, stirring and inspiring as the Upanishads." (‘Sacred Books of the East’)

That is not important. This is a discussion forum & the project has been approved as of yet. The thread allows fellow SSCI forumers to provide their inputs and have a discussion pertaining to this project. If the project is shelved the thread can be locked and deleted. But that uncertainty shouldn't hold anybody from talking about it.

No offices in this tower, but I have never heard of a single building containing more than one hotel (although the number of hotels in this building is unknown). I hope a shorter supertall with offices is constructed in Mumbai as well.

__________________I honestly think all development projects must be sustainable and futureproof.

MMRDA to extend bid submission date for Wadala tower project
The MMRDA is planning to extend the last date for submission of bids for its 101-storey 'Iconic Tower' project in Wadala, Mumbai.

As many as nine construction firms - both national and international - have now requested extension citing economic slowdown. The tower project is estimated to cost Rs 2,500 crore to be implemented on BOT basis.

Now, the final submission date is likely to be extended by a month. The companies have sought extra time to work out JVs with their foreign counterparts. Currently, the last date for bid submission is 31 July 2009.

Meanwhile, the MMRDA has also extended the last date of submission for bids for designing and offering consultancy for the proposed tower. Around 23 companies have evinced interest in providing consultancy for the tower. The last date of bid submission for consultants is now 7 August 2009.

I do not mind these small delays as long as they do it carefully and look over all the small details. This is better than regretting the decisions later when the ball has already been set into motion . Of course.... my assumption is that the project wont be postponed out of existence.